FAST CO: Hyperloop Lookalike Inspire Elon Musk?

Elon Musk brings us another visionary concept – truly revolutionary transport! LA to SF in 30 minutes – using reusable power for a fraction of the cost of traditional high speed rail.

On Monday, Musk released an “alpha” design document of his own. It outlined what he called the Hyperloop, an idea he’d first mentioned at a PandoDaily “fireside chat” in Santa Monica in July 2012. Hyperloop would transport several people in a capsule through a metal tube on skis that glided across a cushion of air, much like ET3. They’d whisk from San Francisco to L.A. in 30 minutes–at speeds of up to 760 mph. It would maintain speed with a series of acceleration devices, like ET3. And it would all run on solar and other reusable power, generating more than it actually used. The whole thing would cost a fraction of the price of a proposed high-speed rail system along the same corridor.